🏀 KuBuckets Archive

What a game! The overall energy Kansas brought to this game was excellent! It wasn't easy to separate and award one single Jayhawk for having more hustle than the others. Perry Ellis got after it on the offensive glass, winning us an extra 3 possessions. That's something we haven't seen enough of from Perry, but nice to see him do it in league play.

The one guy who really gave up his body for this win was Tarik Black. Tarik is the winner of the FLOOR BURN AWARD in this game. In his fifteen minutes of action, Tarik scored 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 dynamic assist and 2 intimidating blocks. But what won this award for Tarik was the two times he gave us his body for charge calls, and got them! It's a tough year to earn charges, especially for bigger players like Tarik. His previous record of winning the charge calls wasn't good, but he stuck with it and he now knows it is possible. This method of winning over a possession may just catch on and help us out this year. Up until now, players feel too comfortable to drive in on post defenders because they know the whistle favors them. Maybe we are at the beginning part of a trend, maybe the whistle won't always bail out over-aggressive ball handlers in the future. With Tarik's size, ball handlers will know what it is like to run into a brick wall on the court!

Tarik sort of lost some fans early in the season, losing faith in his value. He's been stepping up and winning some of those fans back. Let's hope he continues that trend!

Conference Season Tally:

Tarik Black 1

Wayne Selden 1

@drgnslayr, great call. Taking those charges was fantastic. Good to see the big guy get some positive results.

My expectations for Tarik at the beginning of the season were pretty low. Seems like if a guy is going to make an impact he should be able to do it in 3 years without having to change schools. But I love his positive attitude and hustle, and really like seeing hard work pay dividends.

As I posted before...

You knew it would be a good game when Tarik came in and did not get his customary foul just for checking in.

You knew it would get better when Tarik did not get his fourth foul after 3 minutes in the court.

You knew it would be a great game when Tarik actually drew 2 charging fouls; who knew they still called charging fouls.

@drgnslayr great choice, and love the award! Have to say I like Traylor's hustle too.

I usually spot a player that has lifted his hustle in a game and those players need to be rewarded. But what about a guy like Traylor who is bringing solid hustle every game? I'm glad you reminded me of his energy, because he surely deserves this award just about every game!

@drgnslayr bad thing on my part, I had just said that I didn't like the Black-Traylor combo when they went in. Love being wrong, those charges were insane! He is so deserving of positive reinforcement!

@drgnslayr I would give that award to both Black brothers - Jamari and Tarik. Because they play like they have been playing together their whole lives. Their short passing game was a thing of beauty... a work of art. To me, it was the best example of teamwork so far this season.

@KUSTEVE black brothers? Am I getting that right?

If you can change it to the Traylor brothers maybe it would be less awkward.

@approxinfinity am I missing something? We look bad.

@Crimsonorblue22 I'm giving @KUSTEVE the benefit of the doubt. If he's saying they look like brothers because they play well together, and therefore giving them the same last name, which happens to be Black, then I guess it's not racist. Which is why I think he should choose the other last name, Traylor, as obviously using the name Black means more to most people.

Maybe it's because I live outside the US: I can't fathom anybody worrying about calling Tarik and Jamari "Black". It's a play on the word "Black", which is not pejorative. Using the other last name involves no word play and would make readers wonder what the heck KUSTEVE is talking about.

@ParisHawk ok!

I knew exactly what KUSTEVE Was saying, and didin't think anything racist until you two brought it up :-) Its just the uber-sensitive society that we live in now, I guess.

@drgnslayr Hell ya! Rock Chalk Tarik. Ive also been impressed with Selden,Embiid, Perry and Traylor diving after 50/50's

@KUSTEVE on first impression it struck me as pertaining to the strong link between both of them while they are on court, in the game. Didn't really think about race while reading this.

Maybe we try 'Black and Blue'. Some folks underestimate how important having those two help bang on the opponents starters, in their minutes, over the course of a game. By the end of the contest, opponents are worn down and fatigued. The depth is really paying dividends as these young 'uns figure it all out. I'm bullish on the Jayhawks and see continued growth through this special season. Rock Chalk, beat ISU and send Weatherwax back to his suffering bride with a sad face.

@Blown my response was meant to be tongue in cheek. "Let's cut the baby in half then" worst of both worlds farcical kind of thing.. It makes moderating easier.

@drgnslayr this is my favorite award for the game, can't wait to see who gets it tonight!